WHAT IS THE FATE OF THE SUNNI MINORITIES IN IRAN?

Iran denounces discrimination against Shias in Saudi Arabia. But does the state of the mullahs have the moral to criticize the great repression in other countries? What about the Sunnis in Iran?

When Saudi Arabia executed Nimr al Nimr for defending the Shiite minority's right, the spiritual leader Ali Khamenei threatened Riyadh would get "god's vengeance," which is worth it.
Though Tehran is also no better to treat the Sunni minority in its country. Human rights defenders reported.

Sunnis in Iran represent 10 per cent of the population. In addition there are smaller minorities of Christianity, Judaism and other religions. Although equality of rights is guaranteed in article 12 of the Constitution, "in practice the Sunnis are often abused," Iranian journalist Bahman Nirumand told DW.

According to the records of human rights organizations, there are currently 27 Sunni convicts in Iran. They were charged with endangering state security and also acting "hostility toward god." But the prisoners claimed to be just propagating Sunni Islam in mosques.

Minorities are targeted by the security forces
The spread of Sunni doctrine or other schools has been responded to by antipathy by rulers in Iran. Last year the police for example targeted the Sufi group, the Order of Gonabadi. The authorities repeatedly destroyed the worship house belonging to the minority order. Also protests held about 800 people sympathizers Gonabadi in Tehran was forcibly dismissed by the police.

In Iran there are about 10,000 Sunni mosques. Compared with the Shiite mosque of 60,000, actually based on the ratio of the number of adherents, there are more places of worship for the Sunnis than for the Shi'a majority. But the figure is deceptive, denounced human rights organization Human Rights Watch.

In its 2015 annual report, HRW notes the city government is no longer allowing the construction of Sunni mosques in Tehran. French TV, France24, two Sunni Iranians claim they should worship in a secret mosque if they do not want to worship at a Shiite mosque.

Not just a religious factor
However, HRW believes that religion is not a major factor in the rise of discrimination against minorities in Iran. Most Sunnis belong to different ethnicities, Kurds, Turkmen, Arabs or Baloch tribes.

They live in a thick margin by separatist movements or autonomy. Ironically, according to Nirumand, the government in Tehran is concerned about Wahabi's influence from Saudi Arabia against Sunnis in its own country, similar to the fear of the rulers in Riyadh against the Shiite minority in the country.

But once the minority situation in Iran slowly began to improve. For decades Iran's parliament has begun to be filled by Sunni representatives. Last year Tehran for the first time appointed a Sunni as an ambassador abroad.